Bird Nest Removal

Think you might have a bird’s nest in your chimney? Apart from being able to hear birds chirping in your flue, another sign that you have some extra inhabitants in your home is twigs falling into the fireplace. A bird’s nest in your chimney often leads to a build-up of unwanted materials in your flue, so you will need to call in a professional chimney sweep to get rid of it.

You may feel that it is inhumane to get rid of a bird’s nest from your chimney as, after all, it’s not doing any harm, is it? A bird’s nest, however, can be a source of a few health and safety problems that you mightn’t have considered. The build-up of materials collected by the birds for the nest increases the risk of an unexpected fire. It is also important to note that bird droppings can be hazardous to your health too. Not only is the mess unsightly, but it can mean that parasites and mites are being carried into your home. Contact with these mites can make young infants and yourself very ill. Bird’s nest removal is a specialised job to tackle, so I wouldn’t advise having a go yourself.

If you live in Brighton, Hove, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks or any of the surrounding areas (see “areas covered” page for full list), then please feel free to ask for my help.  As a professional chimney sweep, I am more than happy to carry out the job for you.

So how does a chimney sweep get rid a chimney of a bird’s nest? The technique is different to the one used in regular chimney cleaning. A small brush is used to punch through the nest, which loosens the material it is made up of. Subsequent larger brushes are then used to remove the remainder of the debris. At the end of the job, a smoke test is carried out to make sure that the correct draw is available to the fire. If the test is a success, this means that combustion is happening smoothly in your stove or fireplace, and that the obstruction of the bird’s nest is gone.

A bird guard should also be fitted in order to prevent your feathered friends from returning. A couple of birds that are infamous for roosting in people’s chimneys are rooks and starlings, and these animals often return to where they nested the following year, once they come back to Britain after migrating. By fitting a bird guard, you will be saving yourself the task of arranging for a chimney sweep to come and remove a nest on an annual basis.